Vardzia is a spectacular cave monastery near Aspindza in southern Georgia. It looks like one of the movie sets of Lord of the Rings, although it wasn’t the home of dwarves but of many monks.This underground monastery was built in the 12th Century, under the reign of King Tamar, the first woman that was ever crowned as a king (not a queen!) in Georgian history. It used to be completely hidden until a severe earthquake exposed and destroyed the cave monastery. 

Uplistsikhe is located in eastern Georgia, about 100 km from Tbilisi. It literally means “Lord’s Fortress” and it’s an abandoned rock-hewn town that is more than 3000 years old.  It was founded around 1000 BC and was continuously inhabited until the 13th century AD. At one point Uplistsikhe even had 20000 inhabitants!The cave city covers an area of almost 40.000 m2 and used to have a pharmacy, a bakery, an amphitheater and even a prison. All the structures are connected by tunnels.

Batumi is a modern city on the coast of the Black Sea. It’s the second biggest city in Georgia and honestly, it doesn’t really feel like you’re in Georgia.

One moment you can hear the church bells ringing, the next you hear the muezzin’s call to prayer coming from the mosques (Batumi is right near the border with Turkey).

The architecture is a combination of European and Asian styles, often mixed with fairy-tale like towers, statues and buildings created by some hallucinating architects. This is definitely visible at night when the majority of the building is lit up and bathing in the colors of the rainbow.